Who is your favorite pastor and why?

seeking.IAM said:

My favorite(s) is the unsung, underpaid, selfless, nameless small parish clergy who nurtures the faith of their flocks in faithfulness to their call despite the challenges they face.

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AXIOS!

This is the best possible answer. The answer I gave by the way relates to a sacred mystery that happened in the post-communist absence of such clergy. There is such a need for more small parish clergy, and also I would argue missionaries of small missions.

You called to mind Brother Dismas Mary, a consecrated penitential hermit who is also a trained medical doctor, whose hermitage is open to the public as a clinic, from which he treats the impoverished local population - predominantly Muslim - in a small town in The Gambia. There are few local Christians, but for those who are there, and also visitors from elsewhere along the Gambia and from abroad, he serves as a pastor. Of currently serving Roman Catholic pastors he is my favorite owing to the special nature of his vocation:

Paul Washer



Solid biblical teacher who will not sugarcoat the truth for the world, and tells it like it is without being a "hell fire" preacher from the 1960s.

Favorite sermon (at least the major one he is known for back in the day):

I've enjoyed listening to Alistair Begg on the radio for ages.

MMXX said:

I've enjoyed listening to Alistair Begg on the radio for ages.

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When I lived/worked in Calif. I listened to him on Christian radio. The many Christian radio stations in CA is one of the very few things I liked about CA. Begg IIRC was Scottish or Irish. Some things I didn't like being grid locked on the 880, 3 cops on the shoulder with guns drawn with bangers spread eagle on the ground one car between me and them and no place to go.
My apt being burglarized twice.
CHP in a rest area with a driver at gunpoint.
And on any given night listening to the gunfire in west Oakland and watching the flashing blue lights running back and forth.
Koreans called I-880 pal, pal kong, which is Korean for 880. I served/serve in a Korean church.,

My favorite pastor is the lead pastor of my church.

Aside from him, my other favorite pastors and teachers are Derek Prince, Billy Graham, and Michael Heiser.

Der Alte said:

When I lived/worked in Calif. I listened to him on Christian radio. The many Christian radio stations in CA is one of the very few things I liked about CA. Begg IIRC was Scottish or Irish. Some things I didn't like being grid locked on the 880, 3 cops on the shoulder with guns drawn with bangers spread eagle on the ground one car between me and them and no place to go.
My apt being burglarized twice.
CHP in a rest area with a driver at gunpoint.
And on any given night listening to the gunfire in west Oakland and watching the flashing blue lights running back and forth.
Koreans called I-880 pal, pal kong, which is Korean for 880. I served/serve in a Korean church.,

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Yes, I almost forgot about Alistair. He is gifted. I used to hear him on my daily commutes when I had satellite radio. I believe he was out of my home town, Cleveland.

I love listening to Paul Washer. Very convicting messages and really makes you think and dive into scripture!

bèlla said:

No favorite pastor but I’ve been blessed by Derek Prince’s teachings. I learned a lot about spiritual warfare through him. I also appreciate Watchman Nee. The Spiritual Man is a must read for all believers.

Yours in His Service,

~bella

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I've just recently discovered Derek Prince on youtube. And I've been blessed, too.

Hank Hanegraaff before and even more so after his conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy.

This is a holy man. His sermons seem to speak to me, in a certain kind of special way.

....This from yesterday:

I am not reformed/calvinist, and yet my favorite pastor is Alistair Begg. Just go to Youtube and search.

imge said:

I thought it would be fun to have a post where you can share a favorite pastor or sermon and why you like them. I would like this to post to be about fellowship and less on specific doctrines, even if your pastor has a specific doctrine. Please no bashing of anyone's pastor.

I'll start:

One of my favorite pastors to listen to is Pastor Doug Batchelor.

Why? He is very intelligent, but really easy to listen to. He doesn't speak at you, but to you, which is really important to me. He is more of an educator and makes learning about God interesting. He had a very interesting childhood and his personal testimony is really inspiring. Briefly, not raised with any religion, father an airline mogul and mom an actress, grew up on billionaire island in Miami and used into break in his friends parents homes and steal. Kicked out of most schools, he ended up living in a cave outside of LA where someone left a Bible. He started reading it and his journey to finding God is truly inspiring. He took over for Amazing Facts ministries and has dedicated his life helping others find God.

Favorite sermon? He has way too many. You can find them on https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pastor+doug+batchelor or AmazingFacts.com in the media section and search on just about any topic.

Here is a recent sermon that I thought was excellent (2) "Is My Christianity Real? (Part 1)" - Pastor Doug Batchelor - YouTube

You should listen to his personal testimony

(2) The Richest Caveman with Pastor Doug Batchelor - YouTube

He also has a radio show where you can ask him any question relating to the bible every Sunday evening. Here are some past broadcasts (2) bible answers live doug batchelor - YouTube

Who is yours and why?

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Jesus! He preached the gospel as no other, with authority, speaking the truth even if when it offended others, including his disciples. The Spirit of the Lord was upon him because he had anointed him to preach the gospel to the poor. (Luke 4:18) He condemned all evil and sanctioned all good. Jesus made clear to people how to obtain forgiveness, showing how true repentance will result in a changed life and urged men to obey the commands of God. Jesus was our example in all areas of life.

Paul (Saul of Tarsus). After his conversion Paul preached Christ and the gospel. He was a target and faced many threats during his mission to evangelize three continents and pen two-thirds of the New Testament's epistles. Next to the Lord, Paul was the greatest and most effective preacher who ever lived.

John MacArthur. The first sermon he preached when he began his ministry at Grace Community Church in 1969, set the stage for over a thousand other great sermons to follow. On that day he preached a sermon entitled "How to Play Church" and he began with Matthew 7:21-23. You may read (or listen) to the sermon for yourself if you're so inclined. MacArthur went on to preach all of the New Testament, verse by verse, and several books fo the Old Testament, to his congregation over the next half century or so.

Here's an example of one of MacArthur's sermons. By this time, MacArthur has preached all the books of the New Testament, except the Gospel of Mark. As he embarks on his journey through Mark (The Gospel of Jesus Christ) MacArthur weaves together a biography of the "Helper" known as John Mark. He begins with this sermon, entitled "Mark, the Restored Deserter (Mark 1:1)"

Hmm said:

One of my favourite speakers is Keith Ward. He's slightly unusual in that he is a (now retired) philosopher who later became a theologian.

He relates how when he was a philosopher and defended belief in God everyone said ‘How interesting! That's a very original and unusual opinion.’ But when he became a theologian and carried on defending the same belief in God everyone said, ‘How boring! That is just what you are paid to say so you must be some sort of paid church lackey!'

He became Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford and when his arrival there was heralded by a letter from the famous New Atheist Richard Dawkins to a newspaper calling for his resignation, on the ground that there was no such subject as theology, and that he was a particularly stupid example of a theologian anyway. The reason for this was a short letter Ward had written to the same newspaper following a discussion of the Christmas story in the paper. He had written, in what was meant to be a joke, that he knew the three wise men existed because I had seen their tomb in Cologne Cathedral. It was just a joke but it proved too much for Richard Dawkins, who took it as an example of the sort of evidence theologians rely on, and of the best Ward could do in theological argument.

Anyway, he mainly writes and talks about how philosophy and science (particularly quantum mechanics) support the Christian world view and he does so in a very accessible way with the occasional bad joke thrown he. I recommend the public lectures he gave at Gresham College some of which are on YouTube, otherwise on the college's website.

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You might also like Chuck Missler, also on YouTube. He speaks on science and Christianity in many interesting videos.

imge said:

I thought it would be fun to have a post where you can share a favorite pastor or sermon and why you like them. I would like this to post to be about fellowship and less on specific doctrines, even if your pastor has a specific doctrine. Please no bashing of anyone's pastor.

I'll start:

One of my favorite pastors to listen to is Pastor Doug Batchelor.

Why? He is very intelligent, but really easy to listen to. He doesn't speak at you, but to you, which is really important to me. He is more of an educator and makes learning about God interesting. He had a very interesting childhood and his personal testimony is really inspiring. Briefly, not raised with any religion, father an airline mogul and mom an actress, grew up on billionaire island in Miami and used into break in his friends parents homes and steal. Kicked out of most schools, he ended up living in a cave outside of LA where someone left a Bible. He started reading it and his journey to finding God is truly inspiring. He took over for Amazing Facts ministries and has dedicated his life helping others find God.

Favorite sermon? He has way too many. You can find them on https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pastor+doug+batchelor or AmazingFacts.com in the media section and search on just about any topic.

Here is a recent sermon that I thought was excellent (2) "Is My Christianity Real? (Part 1)" - Pastor Doug Batchelor - YouTube

You should listen to his personal testimony

(2) The Richest Caveman with Pastor Doug Batchelor - YouTube

He also has a radio show where you can ask him any question relating to the bible every Sunday evening. Here are some past broadcasts (2) bible answers live doug batchelor - YouTube

Who is yours and why?

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Probably John Owen, but he was dead long before I was born. Reading him is to me like eating food.

My senior pastor is my favorite pastor.

On the Internet and/or radio however, it's Dr. R. C. Sproul, and most/all of Ligonier's teaching fellows as well (at www.ligonier.org and www.renewingyourmind.org). If you're an Amazon Prime member, there are a number of free teaching series available there by R C Sproul. Just search "Sproul" when you get there.

Here is an example of his teaching to listen to (if you'd like to): God's Will and the Bible by R.C. Sproul

--David
p.s. - I also greatly appreciate the teaching ministries of Dr. John MacArthur (www.gty.org) and Dr. Chuck Swindoll (www.insightforliving.org).

The Liturgist said:

I spent some time considering whether to take the risk of endorsing a pastor still among the living, who could fall astray, or limit myself to those who have reposed, but in the end, settled on a different approach altogether.

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St. Nektarios of Aegina, the Bishop of Pentapolis. Why? Because as many can attest, our God is a God of the living. Love is strong as death, and many waters cannot quench love.

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Can you please share with me what hand gesture he is making with his right hand (our left). It looks like an oddly shaped okay sign. What does it mean, and why is he gesturing this way?

Thanks in advance for your response.

chad kincham said:

You might also like Chuck Missler, also on YouTube. He speaks on science and Christianity in many interesting videos.

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Missler is one of my favorites too; he had a love and reverence for God that was contagious. A brilliant humble guy.